Merry Christmas / Frohe Weihnachten!

On being loved and loving others

     "You will soon find that your security in God's love and your awareness of his unlimited patience with you will redefine the other relationships in your life.

     "Instead of demanding that others conform to what you think is right, you will find yourself letting others have their own journey.  By no longer manipulating them to what you think is best, you can allow them the same freedom God gives you.  You will let them choose their own course based on nothing but the clarity of truth as they understand it and the willingness of their conscience.  It is the task of the Holy Spirit, not you, to convict.

     "Instead of despising people who are broken by sin, you will be touched by the depth of bondage that holds them captive.  You will also see better how the Father responds to them and then know how you can as well.  Sometimes that means you'll stand back and let the consequences of sin take their course as the father did with his prodigal son.  At other times it means you'll jump into the mess with them and help them find God's way out.

     "Instead of saying what you think people want to hear, you'll look for ways to be gently honest with them."  (From 'He Loves Me,' by Wayne Jacobsen, 2007, Windblown Media.)

When I reflect on my own life and interactions with others, at first I feel that I am not 'gently honest' with others, but rather brutaly honest!  But I think it only feels brutal because our culture is so bogged down in telling people what they want to hear in order that they will like us and be our friend.  It's really against the grain. 

This cultural phenomenon is something that I'm against and try not to adhere to, so most of the time I find myself saying nothing at all and waiting for the opening/the opportunity to say something - ie., wait for the person to ask me what I think.  Any attempt to share my input before this is futile, which I have done so many times before! 

The more I experience of my Father's patience and gentleness with me, the more patience I have with others.

[Top: A snail left this message for us on our path one morning :-); above: one of the many butterflies dancing around at the moment, this one rested in our apple tree.]

Reflection on our home

I was doing something outside of our garden the other day, and as I walked back toward the cottage I saw the large poplar and oak trees in a way that I hadn't before.  I was standing back, seeing the whole tree and the whole picture!  They're lovely and green and majestic and strong - like a covering over our little home which is nestled in between them.  Previous to this day I had only seen the trees as bothersome and ugly.  I was only seeing them close up with all their dead branches in clear view.  But from further away I could see them from a different perspective - taking in the beauty of the whole.

For the first time I can see our home as being so beautiful and inviting in its entirety..... I could see a hope and a future in it as well.  Since moving here I have often struggled with feeling secure in my home - in the sense that we don't know how long we can live here.  My fear came from the fact that our landlady is very old and if anything happened to her, it could mean that we would need to move on.  But this is only based on the natural and I really can not know what would happened if she passed away.  However, the other day, when I saw the big trees over our house, I felt God's reassurance or even His heart for us being here - His presence over our home.

I am looking forward to the New Year and all that it will bring.  We will welcome our first child into our home, becoming a little family.  I am so thankful and joyful and excited to meet this little one and embrace all the changes that will come with them!



Our local kangaroos, hanging out in the rain, outside our front door. 

My first attempt at home-made tomato sauce... without sugar!

 Our sunflower seedlings - I got frustrated with the few packet seeds that I tried twice to sow and which didn't sprout, so I threw in a handful of seeds that I had saved from our sunflowers at Stuart Road!

The cottage from the north-west, showing the large poplar tree on the right, another one to the front left (in the middle of the picture), and the big oak tree on the left-handside.

Spring

 When we returned home to our Melbourne cottage, we found that spring was well underway!  The bulbs were blooming, the roses too, the trees were full with new leaves, the bees were buzzing, and the grass in the fields was one metre high and full of seeds!

We didn't even think about spring and allergies, but it hit us fairly hard!  Our bodies had to adjust to a different time clock, different food, and a different climate with bacteria and pollen and seeds in the air.  We were eager to do some jobs around the house as we hadn't done much work in Germany, so in the first week back we went hard at it for a couple of days, and this was not good for our immune systems!  So last weekend Ulf lay in bed with puffy eyes and no energy at all, for a whole day.  The symptoms are still hanging around like a bad smell, but they no longer stop us from our daily lives.

 There's been much to do in the garden - plants that I do not desire to have keep growing back and taking over and lots of bushes and even a tree needed pruning back.  The vegie patch made a good start, thanks to a friend who looked after our seedlings while we were away.  But the slugs and possums had a go at it and about half of what was there is now gone.  But there is hope!  Our second lot of seedlings are sprouting healthily and plans are underway for future possum protection!

Being away from home has given us, especially me, some much needed perspective on our lives.  When you're removed from your everyday environment, it's much easier to see what it is that motivates you and drives you to do what you have been doing and how...  It was very refreshing to see that I needed to make some changes in my daily routine, my thinking, and let Jesus eradicate some fears that were driving me. 

We have begun to go through our little home, room by room, getting rid of excess decorations and unnecessary junk, dusting and putting things in order.  There were many small unfinished jobs to be done, and now we're finally getting to them!  It feels really good to be putting things in order.  Our t.v. now lives in our storeroom and our computer has taken its place.  Goodbye marketing input!  It's amazing how much more peace we now have in our daily lives without that one item in it!

Ulf is enjoying working with Dave again, painting.  He has plenty of work right up until Christmas, which will provide some financial security for us over the holidays.  I'm continuing with my part-time bookkeeping job and keeping the house and garden in order.  We also have reconnected with our friends and the Elisha Care community, which has been really good.  It's always interesting to learn where God is taking people on the journey - and I mean that in both a spiritual sense and an everyday life/physical one, as I cannot seperate the two.  And it's exciting to see changes, both that have taken place, and which I can see coming for people....God is always at work and he is so faithful.

It is very fitting for us to be experienceing spring-time at this time in our lives, as we felt that when we moved here a new season was beginning in our lives.  After our seventh wedding anniversary in June this year, we learned that we were expecting our first baby!  This was very meaningful for us, as someone had given us a prophetic word two years ago (in our fifth year of marriage) that five was the number of grace, seven the number of completion, and that God would take us from the fifth year into the seventh year by grace.  It was a very timely word as we were waiting and waiting for our time to have children to come.  And now it is upon us! :-) 

We know that the years we have waited were very important and all that God has done in us and our relationship was necessary and very healthy for us.  We see that if we had had children in our first year of marriage, things would have been a lot harder for us and for our children.  But God deals with each of us differently, and this was his path for us.  He is so good and loving and faithful.... and we know that in the coming months and years, we will need the trust and relationship that he has built (and continues to build) with us more than ever before.  The years of waiting were just the beginning....

The journey home to Melbourne

 After 11.5 hours from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, we had 6 hours to wait for our connecting flight to Melbourne, so we had time to explore!  In the middle of the international terminal in KL is this little 'jungle boardwalk' complete with waterfall...!  It was a nice change to the shops and cafes inside.

Last leg to Melbourne - 8 hours.  We landed at 8.36am but didn't get out of the airport until 12pm....!  We spent three hours in queues for passport control and customs as there were so many flights that had arrived at around the same time...  We were so happy to get out of there!

Now we are resting and recovering from the long journey home.  Back at our cottage everything is lush and green and it's been raining for the last week and a half!  Feels like the tropcs...!  There's lots to do in the garden and inside as well as things are still not quite in order after moving in.

Koblenz, Köln and back to Wehrendorf

Day 11 - 12: Koblenz, Köln (Cologne), and back to Wehrendorf, 16th to 17th October. 

On our way north to visit some friends near Koblenz, we got stuck in Sunday traffic for a few hours.... that wasn't so fun!  But we eventually arrived, safe and sound!

 After an overnight stop at Manuel & Rachel's, we couldn't resist checking out the city centre of Köln, which has a montrous sized Cathedral!

There were tourists everywhere, but it was still interesting to see.  They were doing some reconstruction work on one of the towers outside and also on the statues inside.  The chamber inside is so huge that you could find a few regular sized houses in there!

Overall, we had some very positive experiences on our little trip south.  We were glad to be back in Wehrendorf, to rest from the long drive, and to spend some more time with Ulf's family before we return to Melbourne.

Switzerland

Days 6 - 11: Wiler bei Seedorf, Switzerland, 11th to 16th October.

We had a lovely time in Switzerland, visiting Ulf's oldest brother Björn, his wife Sue, and their two little ones - Robin (3) and Lanis (1)....

...throwing rocks into the stream....

...walking through the fields with Ulf's cousin, his wife and daughter, as well...

 ...Lanis enjoyed lots of cuddles from Uncle Ulf...

 ...Robin liked feeding the cows with Aunty Emma...

...and lots of story times with Uncle Ulf...

What else can I say??  It was so nice to spend some quality time with our nephews, and with Björn and Sue as well.  Such times together are rare and precious.

Hurlach again!!!

Days 2 - 6: Hurlach, Bayern, 7th to the 11th October...

After a nice adventure in the forest, we spent the next five days catching up with friends in Hurlach.

 

Nancy and her three children.

Naraleska and her youngest daughter.

It was such a precious time that we had together!  Good friends on the journey with God are the best ones to have!  We were encouraged and blessed by them and loved spending time with their little ones as well.

The Franconian Switzerland in Germany

Day 1: From Wehrendorf to the Fränkische Schweiz, a beautiful region of forest, mountains and valleys near Nurenberg.  We stayed just one night in a Gasthof - hotel - on our way south to visit friends.

The valley showing the Neideck ruins, previously a fortress, on the top right.  We hiked up the mountain to take a look at them...

 On the way we checked out a really deep cave...

 The view from the top was magnificent in all directions...

 The main tower left standing, right on the cliff edge.  The tree on the right is growing out of the rock.

 A modern bridge stands where the drawbridge would once have been...

In the nearest town, Ebermannstadt, we discovered an automatic fresh Brezel dispensing machine in Aldi!!  The signs say 'You push the button - you buy it!' and 'Please press once per piece.'

We had a nice little adventure in the Franconian Switzerland..... then we were off to Hurlach!

Work & Travel!

Ulf took some time to help out at his Opa's place...


Ulf on the roof of Opa's garage, removing hail-damaged sheets of perspex.

Sanding back the well-weathered wood window frames at Opa's...

And finishing off the top coat.  Ulf did a great job and Opa is happy!

Historical Market, Venne

Last Saturday we went to a historical market in a nearby village.  The blacksmith was at work, as were the bakers in the old bakery - their wood-fired oven in full use!  It was a great day out.

  

The band played their brass hearts out and now it's time to go home...!

 

Ulf with the old Tractors!

 

Ulf made a nail with the Blacksmith, old school.

 

In the old mill...

A day at the Footy...Fußball

The fans in the shade are all standing, as we did also.  The seats are more expensive.  The fans were extremely loud and before the game began, the home team's song was played loudly over the speaker system, and was equally matched in volume by the fans singing along proudly.

I thankfully took the earplugs that Ulf brought along for me after the first and only goal by the home team, after only 46 seconds of play.  The roar was intense!  And it didn't get any quieter!

Some awesome football (?) as two players, one from each team, fall down together.  Both teams were desperate for ball possession and of course for goals, which made them trip up other players (foul) often.

It was quite an experience and cannot be matched by our Australian Football fans, even AFL....when they get fired up, they don't sing or chant or beat a drum in hope of a goal, they swear at the players on the field for their missed opportunities and mistakes.  Quite a contrast.

Seeing the sites in Bad Essen

 The old Watermill

Ulf relaxing at the SoleArena

Emma at the SoleArena

The Lutheran church, town centre

Mushroom hunting with Steffi

Yesterday we spent the day with an old friend, Stefanie, who we met in Byron Bay about 6 years ago...  We had a very nice, relaxed day together, with lots of good food and sharing and laughter..... We also went to a forest and found some edible mushrooms, which we ate for dinner!  It was a very special day.  Steffi is one of those people in our lives who we can be very open and honest with about our journey and our faith and ourselves.  We are thankful to have her in our lives and look forward to seeing her again before we leave Germany. :)

Over the hedge

 

 For four nights Ulf and I stayed in a holiday apartment next door, while the whole family were in Wehrendorf for Malte and Anna's wedding.  In the photo above, the roses and lawn in the foreground are the Jetters' backyard and the windows on the right and small patio belong to the apartment, literally over the hedge.

 The living and dining area of the apartment.  It was a nice treat to stay in such a beautiful little flat and to have our own space for a while.

Bjoern, Gunnar, and Emma 'resting' at the table after lunch, the day after the wedding.

 Sunday afternoon we went for a bike ride as the sun was shining brightly all day!  Here we are on the canal.